At the end of February I got to do something that I hadn’t been able to for years – go to a concert. Andrew and I used to be really into music, so we would go see our favorite bands every time they came around. Since getting pregnant and giving birth to Lexi, without family around us to help with babysitting, we have had to miss some of best bands that came around to Miami and Tampa. I was soooo bummed to have missed a Blink 182 concert. So this time with my mom visiting, when I found out that Pink will be in Tampa ( too late for good tickets), I just had to go.
I found decent (and crazy expensive) tickets on StubHub and decided to take my mom who has NEVER been to a concert with me instead of asking her to babysit. Andrew agreed to watch Lexi and we crossed our fingers that I can put her to sleep, sneak out to a concert and come back all before she wakes up for her first nightly feed.
We booked the closest hotel to the venue, so unfortunately there’s not much to talk about in that department, it was a normal hotel, nothing special, except that we could see the stadium out of our window. The biggest reason for that was so that we could walk to the concert and then rush back if Lexi needed me. She tends to accept no one but me when she wakes up at night, so we were crossing our fingers she’d stay asleep.
A note about travelling and staying at hotels.
I actually really enjoy going places with Alexis and staying at new locations. But most importantly, Lexi loves it. As I wrote before, she gets really bored with the old stuff so I can always see how much she adores new places.
It’s like she comes to life.
Needless to say, we’ve been trying to, at least, take short trips around Florida. I am actually contemplating taking a cross country trip and stopping at a bunch of destination. If only she could tolerate long car trips better…
Anyways, so a new hotel is enough for Lexi to go crazy and run around happily as you’ll see in the pictures below.
As far as napping at a hotel, she does just as good as at home. She gets tired really fast and has a really good nap thanks to black out shades. She sleeps on the main bed with the monitor on and sometimes Babyhome Side portable bed rails when we remember to grab them.
A side note on photography: If you ever want to take the most beautiful well lit photos of your babies, rent a nice hotel room and shoot them on the bed. The light is always so gorgeous!
So we didn’t really do much in Tampa, since we were only staying overnight. The next day we went to the Aquarium which was nothing special, but it gave Lexi an opportunity to run around.
The concert itself was absolutely mind blowing, Pink was fabulous. I have gained even more respect for her as a woman and a performer. She is a new mom, she writes her own songs and lyrics which are some of the most interesting lyrics I’ve ever heard. She is in great shape, is on tour where besides dancing and singing, she gets to swing from the ceiling and do acrobatic tricks. This woman is unreal and puts everyone else to shame.
After the concert I went home inspired to be even a little tiny bit like her- strong, creative, direct.
Btw, Lexi woke up the very second I opened the door to the hotel room coming back from the concert (she didn’t hear us, it was just a coincidence) and I rushed over feed her back to sleep, so it all worked out great.
My mom enjoyed the concert immensely, too.
Wearing:
Lexi: Mostly Matilda Jane
Elena: Boob Design Nursing top
Age Reference: 13 months
Yay for concerts! I’m glad you were able to have some quality girl time with your mom. 🙂
I’m always so totally grossed out by hotels/ hotel beds in particular. I remember seeing this news clip where they shined a black light throughout a typical hotel room, and girl- you don’t EVEN want to know the disgusting things they found. I’m jealous that you aren’t quite the germophobe that I am!
Ugh I know. I’ve read about. We spray down every possible surface with alcohol like remotes, phones, handles but the sheets- ugh whatcha gonna do. When Lexi was little we’d bring out own organic mattress topper and sheets but that got old fast and now that she’s a bit older we just sleep on hotel sheets.
It’s so cool to be able to take your little one to new places! We just took our daughter Bridget, who is 15 months, to a hotel for the first time, and every time we’d come back from sight-seeing, she’d want to talk to the desk clerks first and then splash around in the hotel pool. I thought that she was a firecracker at home, but she was a wild woman in a new place! So wild that when we’d get back to our room, she’d conk out for like 11 straight hours! She was so zoinked that she didn’t even want her usual pile of bedtime books. Glad to hear that you and Lexi enjoy hotels and new places as much as we do!
Oh yeah, isn’t it fun! Especially watching their personality get amplified around new places and people. I love it… Eeeek, makes me want to go somewhere sooner. Our next trip is in a few weeks…
You should totally go to Ft Lauderdale when we’re there so our girls can be crazy together!
When are you gonna be there? We’ll be going to Miami this month.
And honestly I am yet to have a playdate with a baby as “active” as Lexi so it would totally be fun to see how she acts with other kids of the same energy level.
The end of September. Just for a Sunday-Wednesday. She’s not really experienced a baby that’s as active as she is, but she’s around some 2-3 year olds at daycare so she’s used to it.
You were in my hometown! Next time you should try Busch Gardens!
Oh we wanted to but didn’t have time for the whole trip. Next time for sure.
We just took our first extended vacation with our 15 month old and she absolutely loved it, especially staying in hotels.
I gotta ask – where is your backpack from? I’ve been looking for cool looking backpack as a diaper bag
The backpack is this one
I actually wrote about it on Daily Mom: http://dailymom.com/shine/lassig-diaper-bags-casual-versatility-meet-hipster-chic/
It’s absolutely amazing! My favorite diaper bag!